


An Additional Cub

by ElisaPhoenix



Series: Supreme Family Chaos [64]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Hurt Stephen Strange, Hypothermia, M/M, Mama Bear Stephen Strange, Other, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Stephen Strange, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange parenting Peter Parker | Supremefamily | Strange Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 23:16:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20455178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElisaPhoenix/pseuds/ElisaPhoenix
Summary: Stephen and the boys are drugged and taken and it's up to the sorcerer to protect the boys. No matter how much his hands hurt.





	An Additional Cub

Stephen woke to excruciating pain in his hands and a body pressed tightly up against his and shivering violently. He groans and uses his forearms to sit up as his hands were clenching in on themselves and trembling just as much as the body against him, and he cries out when he tries to stretch his fingers out. White, hot pain rushes through his hands and Stephen chokes on a sob because his hands have never hurt this badly. Not even when the Ancient One left him on Mount Everest. He was only there for less than two minutes, but here? Wherever here was? He had to have been here for hours. When he looked around to figure out where exactly here was, he discovered he was in a walk in freezer. 

"Stephen."

The sorcerer's head snaps in the direction of the voice and he finds Harley sitting up and hunched in a sitting fetal position to no doubt conserve what was left of his body heat. He looks down to figure out who was pressed up against him and his eyes widen when he finds Peter. The youngest male was awake, but what frightened Stephen was the rapidly dulling look in his eyes. The doctor sprung into action in an instant and started shrugging off his sweater until the sleeves stop at his wrists and he looks over at Harley.

"Help me get my sweater off and on Peter."

Thankfully, Harley didn't argue or complain and uncurls himself to move over to Stephen and help him get his sweater over his clenched and shaking hands, and together they help Peter sit up and put it on him. The shivering didn't even lessen as Stephen pulls him against his chest, and then motions for Harley to do the same. Normally the older teen might have been stubborn, but he either knew how extreme Peter's condition was or he was freezing himself. Maybe both.

Once both teens are settled between his legs and against his chest, Stephen wraps both arms around the boys. A bit of relief fills him when Peters shivering subsides a little bit and then he hisses when Harley takes one of the sorcerer's hands in his. 

The older teen immediately drops it as if burnt. "I'm sorry. I know Dad and Peter massage your hands-"  
"I-it's alright. It would help if you don't mind." He hisses again as the teen tries again and slowly massages his fingers to stretch out. "Do you know what happened?"  
"Not really. You and Peter were drugged when we were coming out of the store and whoever grabbed us punched me." Harley responds and Stephen pulls his more cooperative hand from the teens grasp to feel for any bumps on the teen's head.

"Do you have a headache?"  
"No." 

Harley grabs Stephen's other hand and works that into cooperation as well, and the sorcerer conjures a spell to help warm Peter up. It wouldn't do much except keep the youngest from death's door since he couldn't focus very well. Stephen was too cold, his hands hurt, and he was too worried about the kids. He had to hope that Tony knew of their absence and was looking for them. Peter and Stephen's tech were missing, but Harley still had his watch. It looked simple enough that their captors probably thought it did nothing but tell time, but Stephen knew for a fact that Tony had installed a panic button on it.

"Your watch-" The sorcerer says through teeth that begin to chatter a little.  
"Yeah. I pressed it...but that was about an hour ago. The freezer might be interfering with a direct location."   
"It's enough. Come here." Stephen says as he pulls both boys as close as possible.  
"Can't you portal us out?" Harley asks quietly.  
"No. Not without my sling ring. It looks like they took that too."  
"They take your sling ring but not my watch?" The teen snorts.

Stephen chuckles dryly and looks down at Peter to check on him, finding the younger's gaze less glazed over but not quite aware. It was better than earlier even if he hadn't stopped shivering. From then on, Stephen watched the minutes tick by on Harley's watch as the teens pressed into him little by little. Peter had two sweaters on and Harley had his own, but the sorcerer no longer had anything to keep the chill at bay. He suppressed the urge to shiver as long as possible though. He didn't want to worry Harley anymore than Peter was.

"...rid of one of the kids. Maybe then Stark will take us seriously." 

Stephen's eyes snap open (he didn't even realized he closed them) at the foreign voice and he moves away from the boys to stand in front of them when the freezer door opens. He may not be able to use much magic right now but he could still fight physically. He tried not to think about what little he would be able to do with his hands seizing up again. A man, about Stephen's size stands face to face with him and scowls.

"Move."  
"I'll die before I let you touch my kids."  
"...fine. You first then."

The man pulls out a gun and Stephen's only reaction was for his eyes to widen just before a gunshot rings out through the freezer. The sorcerer looks down at his chest and watches with fading vision as blood seeps into his shirt, and then collapses to the floor with the scream of 'Mom!' following him into oblivion.

________________________

A hallucination. That's what it had to have been, was Stephen's first thought when he woke up. Peter was in no state to say anything and Harley didn't call him that so maybe it was his mind's way of soothing him before he died. Except, the pain in his chest, no matter how dulled it was by pain killers, was very real. So were the voices that seemed to surround him. He may have woken up, but he had yet to open his eyes.

"...hasn't left his side since I found them." Tony's voice filters into his mind and a sigh follows.  
"He needs proper rest." Bruce says.  
"Harley isn't going anywhere until Mama Bear wakes up."

_Harley?_ Stephen wonders as he slowly cracks his eyes open. He groans at the blinding light and lifts his hand to cover his eyes, only it doesn't budge. He blinks against the bright light to figure out what was keeping his hand down and finds that none other than Harley was dozing on the side of his bed with the sorcerer's hand clutched firmly in his. Tony and Bruce race over to the bed, and the engineer picks up Stephen's free hand to kiss the back of it as Bruce looks him over.

"_Tesoro_...you have no idea how scared I was when I saw you bleeding out." Tony says through a shuddering sigh.  
"How long have I been asleep?" Stephen croaks out, and gratefully accepts the cup of water Bruce hands him. He drains half of it before handing it back and the biologist sets it down.  
"A couple of days." Tony answers. "Harley hasn't left your side."  
Stephen looks back over at the sleeping teen, and is immediately reminded of Peter. "Peter-"  
"Nice and toasty again. He's up in his room sleeping." Stephen's eyes flutter shut for a brief moment when Tony leans down to kiss his forehead, and then slowly open again as the older man moves away. "How are you feeling?"  
"A little sore but otherwise fine."  
"Hungry?" The sorcerer shrugs at his husband's question. "I'll see if I can get you something easy for you."

Tony kisses his hand again before leaving the medbay, and Bruce follows him a few minutes later with the promise that he'll be back soon. Stephen sighs and relaxes against his pillows and then looks down at Harley, who continues to doze. Watching him sleep slumped over the side of the bed was making _Stephen_ uncomfortable so he carefully pries his hand from the teen's grip to gently weave his functioning fingers through brown hair.

"Harley." Stephen calls gently and the younger begins to stir awake. "Go up to your room and get some proper sleep."

Harley slowly sits up and rubs his shoulders to work at the kinks that formed in his muscles. When he realizes that Stephen is awake and looking at him, he jumps to his feet and nearly knocks his chair over.

"Mom!"

Stephen's eyes widen and Harley blushes at the term he let slip. He didn't take it back though. Was Harley the one that said something back at the freezer? Now that Stephen thought about it, and if his memory served him correctly, the voice _did_ sound suspiciously like the older teen.

"Harley...I told you that you're not obligated to call me that."  
"...you protected me."  
"Of course I did. It doesn't matter what you call me. You are still a part of this family."  
"...is it okay though?" Harley asks after a few strained moments and Stephen smiles softly.  
"If you want to."

Stephen pats the empty part of the bed beside him when Harley continues to look at it, and then teen hesitates before climbing onto the bed next to Stephen. He carefully curls into the sorcerer's side and tucks his head under the older man's chin and Stephen runs his fingers through Harley's hair. The teen was finally comfortable enough to call him Mom and on the inside, Stephen was preening. It took a few months and a near death experience for the sorcerer, but it happened. In all honesty, he didn't think Harley would ever think of him that way, but it would have been okay.

"Thanks Mom." The teen whispers.  
"You're welcome."  
Tony steps into the room and watches then for a minute. "This is cute and all but I brought Mom food. Scoot Spudicus." When Stephen looks up at him and glares, Tony rolls his eyes. "You can have your new cub back after you eat."  
Stephen sighs and gently pats Harley's back. "Why don't you go up to your room and get some proper rest. I'm sure that chair wasn't comfortable."

Harley sighs and gets back up and Tony steps forward to move the top of the bed up, so Stephen can eat. He hisses at the pain that shoots through his chest from the gunshot wound, and both his husband and son frown.

"Need more pain meds babe?"  
"No. I'm alright. I'll be healing myself after I eat anyway." Stephen waves their concern off and Tony sets down a tray with some soup over his legs.  
"Alright Tator Tot. You heard him. Go up to bed."  
Harley opens and closes his mouth and then clears his throat awkwardly. "Can I come back?"  
Stephen nods. "Of course. Although I may be back upstairs later. If that's the case you can just come into the bedroom."  
"Okay."

Tony and Stephen watch him leave the medbay and the engineer looks at his husband when he sits on the edge of the bed. The sorcerer slowly eats his soup, but when Tony stops his hand, leaving it on the tray, Stephen looks up at him curiously until Tony leans forward to kiss him. It was a gentle but passionate kiss that spoke volumes of the billionaire's anxiety.

"Seeing you in a puddle of blood definitely shaved ten years off of my life."  
Stephen sighs. "I was just protecting the kids."  
"I know babe. I know. It still scared me though. I almost didn't make it in time..." Tony rests his forehead on Stephen's. "I almost lost you _cuore mio_."  
"You didn't. I'm fine. We all are."  
"So you promise not to do it again?"  
Stephen gives Tony a flat look. "You know neither of us can make that promise."  
Tony sighs. "Didn't hurt to try."  
Stephen huffs out fondly and kisses him again before moving back. "Now let me eat my soup."  
"As our matriarch wishes." Tony says and snickers when Stephen smacks the back of his head.


End file.
